It still wouldn’t have been enough, however, as Nagler, who finished secondin STL the last two years, brought homeher first championship with a total timeof 138.619. Rios was only 0.309secbehind, and Kathy Grunenwaldrounded out the podium positions.John Hunter

Street Touring Roadster
Competitors came out in droves to create the newest official, and
the largest, class of 2011. Top talent
including seven former National
Champions flocked to STR, which
resulted in the closest margin of
victory and arguably the most exciting
battle for the top spot. The field
numbered 64 cars, the largest Street
Touring class ever, and the third-largest class in Solo Nationals history –
and it got to begin the day Thursday
running on the East Course. It would
be all MX-5s and S2000s, plus one
lonesome two-driver Solstice, at the
sharp end of the grid.

Day one began with a cautious tone,
but the tempo increased as James Yom,
last of the first drivers, set the bar high
with a dirty 65. 6. Nick Barbato would
be the first to answer Yom’s raw time
and launched himself into the lead on
his second run with a day’s best of
65.798. Yom followed with a 65. 9.

Yom again spoiled a potential FTD
run on his third attempt with another
pylon penalty. Flying under the radar
was Robert Thorne, who took third
place with a 66.0, seemingly playing
the conservative role as the only driver
in the top three with all clean runs.

The stage was set for a West Course
showdown. Yom felt his S2000 CR was
the machine to have, but when asked
about his chances overall, Thorne

stated, “I like coming from behind.”
Both would have to run down Barbato,
who came to Nationals as a late entry
after trying a number of different cars
just weeks before making the trip.

On day two, Yom again started quick
but dirty, coning a 69. 3. Yom and
Barbato pushed harder on second runs,

visibly overdriving sections of the
course. Thorne barely made the top
five on his second run, leaving just one
more run to decide the victor. Robert
Rockefeller, who’d finished the first day
in 11th, had little to lose and so went out
and blasted a 69.441. It would hold up
for FTD and lift him to sixth place. He